


Bush Baby

by KyeAbove



Series: The Reinforcement Of Agony AU [16]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Child Abandonment, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Period-Typical Racism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-07-29 17:57:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16269410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyeAbove/pseuds/KyeAbove
Summary: May 1st, 1921. New York City, New York. Agony:Bliss.Sammy tells Norman the story of finding Matt.





	Bush Baby

**Author's Note:**

> I figure this takes place a few hours after the previous work in the series, story _Okay, Okay._

~May 1st, 1921~

* * *

“He’s not really mine, in the traditional sense.”

Sammy had Matt on his lap, and the boy was more interested in Sammy’s hair than being a part of the conversation. He had strands in his hands, and he was braiding them together. Rather well, Norman noticed. Sammy was making no indication he even noticed what Matt was doing, or cared. 

“I figured he just took after his mother.” Because there was little to no resemblance between Sammy and Matt, and Norman caught that from the start. Matt was probably of mixed race though, and,“You mentioned she’s not white, and I can't place his features to a point, but I assumed...” 

Sammy shook his head. 

“Eva is black, yes. But she’s not Matt’s mother. She’s the other one’s mother though.” 

Matt thought now was the time to put his opinion in. 

“I don’t like Eva. She’s mean to Baby.” Speaking of Sammy’s other little boy. Norman didn’t know that one’s name. He was sure at this point the kid didn’t even have a name. 

Sammy gave Matt a pat on the head, and dangled his, rather long, hair in front of the young boy’s face, and Matt grasped it to start braiding again, distracted once more. 

“I know you don’t. You’ve made that very clear. Odd there that you hate having your hair braided but you like braiding other people’s hair” Sammy smiled when Matt made no response as he twirled and pulled together a growing braid, and then sighed, and looked back at Norman. “See,” Sammy continued the story he was trying to tell. “I started raising him from when he was a baby.”

“Did you know his parents?”

“No. There was no sign of them. Never could find them. So I took him in as my son.” Sammy’s story commenced, “I was sixteen, months short of seventeen, already raising three starving siblings, and I was starving even more. Fate had no footing sending him my way, and yet I was the one who heard the crying. I found him wrapped up in a blanket, abandoned, probably only a few weeks old at most. He was left alone in a rose shrub.” 

“Bush baby!” Matt cheerfully chirped. 

“Shrub.” Sammy lightly corrected. 

“Hmm…meow.” Matt said it like it settled the whole conversation in his favor, and both Sammy and Norman grinned at the oddness of it. 

It helped steady some of Norman’s growing anger at whoever had abandoned a baby, probably to die. Even though Norman would have even less luck finding them than Sammy had. If they thought the baby had been sickly, they had been wrong because Matt was alive now. If it was to do with him being likely mixed race…

“I wish I could find his old parents, or parent if his father never knew about him, and show them what a wonderful child I got to raise.” Sammy tickled under Matt’s chin, and the child giggled. 

“I want to punch them, personally.” Norman's fist ached for a face. Especially because using his  _ other connections _ might upset Matt. 

“So do I!” It was Matt who replied to that. Maybe Norman was wrong about using those other connections. 

_ “Mattie.” _ Sammy spoke sharply, and then tickled him again. More tickling, more uncontrollable giggling. “He’s very ticklish.” 

Seeing the father-son display, it made Norman think fondly of one day raising a family of his own. But he was in no position to raise a family. It was too dangerous. He didn’t want to put a family though that. 

“You’re a good man, Sammy. Crazy and weird, but good.” 

“Thank you, Norman. I try my best.” 


End file.
